Market your skills and apply them as a sole trader

Sir Richard Branson’s name has been synonymous with successful and sometimes controversial entrepreneurship since the late 1960’s.

Since that time his insight into prevailing market conditions and keen eye for gaps in the market has ensured that his business survived and thrived through four recessions.

Quoted in The Times over the weekend Sir Richard said: “Fortunes are made out of recessions. A lot of entrepreneurs get going in the economic depths because the barriers to entry are lower.”

Virgin is now aiming to become a high street bank and this recession is undoubtedly providing the right conditions for the company to enter a banking system that was formerly seen as impene-trable.

Sir Richard is talking about breaking through the type of barriers that only a big player like him-self could demolish and he is likely to achieve his goal.

But how could this recession help to ease the average person’s entry into the world of private en-terprise?

Redundancy has recently forced thousands to reconsider their futures. Whereas many in the older age group would have previously been quite happy to retire, because of the drop in their pen-sion funds this is no longer an option in the short term.

Busy mums who have been forced to leave well paid jobs may choose to run their own business from home to strike a better work/life balance, rather than face the struggle of finding new em-ployment and expensive child care facilities.

Large sections of society that previously wouldn’t have thought about going solo, frustrated with the lack of employment in the traditional job market, are now considering starting their own busi-ness - it’s the right time to carefully consider your skills and take them to market yourself

There aren’t as many barriers to working for yourself as you may think. The most straightfor-ward route is to become a ‘sole trader’.

It doesn’t require you to register at Companies House or demand the administrative or account-ing requirements that apply to limited companies, although you do have to register with HMRC as self employed for tax purposes.

Anyone with the creativity, enthusiasm and capability can become a sole trader and start their own business and keep start up costs to a minimum.

The business will have a good chance of succeeding in today’s market place providing that it is based on the all important qualities of reliability and integrity.

So, whether you’re an accountant, beautician or wheelie bin cleaner, if you can provide a good quality service at a reasonable price you’re likely to find a ready market and you can use the Inter-net to its full promotional advantage.

Be prepared to think through your new venture very carefully and if you can find a niche or gap in the market, so much the better.

In 1970 the young Richard Branson formed a cult following for his new company by importing re-cords that British teenagers wanted, but couldn’t buy on the high street.

Fast forward nearly forty years and Sir Richard is set to project Virgin as part of a different and newly emerging banking system.

Like him or loathe him, he is the epitome of the word entrepreneurship, meaning the process of identifying opportunities and taking advantage of them by providing needed products and services.

Not everyone is hoping to make a fortune, but if you are in the position to market your skills and apply them as a sole trader, the forces created by this recession are more likely to aid you than hin-der you and now is the time to give it a try.